We Celebrate Them
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: Hiccup's first Snoggletog as Chief on Berk. While mourning over the loss of a father, Hiccup finds strength in three simple words a certain someone had spoken to him years ago. MAJOR HTTYD2 SPOILERS!
1. Chapter 1

**HELLO! So, this is a Christmas fic I have started. :) I will probably finish it on Christmas day, and it will be around five chapters long. :) Post HTTYD2, MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS (you have been warned). **

** Okay, so you know that fic "Of Trappers And Arrows" I was working on? Well, guess what? I have decided to take that fic all the way to the end of HTTYD2. :D Since I realized that my take changes A WHOLE BUNCH, and now I need to write that. Problem is, I have no idea when I will. At the moment, I'm at a rather good resting place for that fic. I will probably pick it up again sometime in January or February. **

** So, Christmas fanfiction...enjoy! Merry Christmas! :D **

"Hold on," said Stoick. Hiccup paused and turned around to face his father. "Hold on. Alright...come on, what's on your mind? Out with it."

Hiccup sighed. "It's been three days, Dad," he said. "I just thought Toothless would be back by now."

"I'm sure he is with the other dragons," aid Stoick.

"Yeah?" said Hiccup, his voice dropping. "I wish I could be that sure."

"Ah, listen," said Stoick, "I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do, when they can't he here for the holiday?" He put his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We celebrate them! And I imagine that is exactly what Toothless would want you to do. Right?"

Hiccup sighed. "You're right," he said.

"Good!" said Stoick. "Then go get that helmet. We've had enough disappointment around here."

_FIVE YEARS LATER_

Hiccup woke up, hearing the familiar _THUMP _on the roof, indicating Toothless was itching to go flying. Hiccup stood up and headed outside, meeting his dragon. It was snowing; not an unfamiliar sight. Not only that, but it was Snoggletog; the Berkians' annual holiday. Not only _only _that, but it was Hiccup's first Snoggletog without his father.

"Good morning, Mr, Bossy," said Hiccup to Toothless. Toothless jumped down from the roof and landed in front of the newly appointed Chief of Berk. It had only been a few months since the fight with Drago. Hiccup was still getting the hang of things, but he was also getting used to it.

"Ready to go check on the village?" said Hiccup. Toothless grunted in agreement, nudging his master. Hiccup smiled and mounted the dragon before taking to the air, flying around the village before everyone else was awake.

After about an hour of straight flying around the village, people began waking up. Hiccup looked below and saw Astrid, waving at him, hailing him down. Hiccup landed Toothless in the plaza and dismounted, walking towards the girl.

"Happy Snoggletog," said Astrid. "You're up early."

"Happy Snoggletog, and I'm always up early," said Hiccup. "I can't sleep in with this goofball jumping on my roof." He pointed at Toothless behind him with a smile. Toothless had gotten bored with their conversation before it even started, and now took to chasing a Terrible Terror around the plaza.

"Yeah, I guess you can't," said Astrid. "So, Snoggletog's today."

"Yep," said Hiccup. "I assigned the Twins and Snotlout to decorate the Great Hall yesterday. Hopefully they haven't decided to burn it down and save time."

"It wouldn't surprise me," said Astrid. "But we should _probably _go check it out."

"Couldn't agree with you more, milady," said Hiccup. They were just about to head out, when they heard someone shout at them from in the air. Looking up, Hiccup and Astrid smiled when Valka landed Cloudjumper in front of them and dismounted.

"Morning, you two," said Valka. "I guess I should say Happy Snoggletog. Why'd we pick such a strange name?"

"No idea," said Hiccup. "And Happy Snoggletog to you, too, Mom."

"Same," said Astrid.

"I still can't believe all of this," said Valka, gesturing to the villagers bustling about in the plaza, followed by their dragons. "Dragons and Vikings spending Snoggletog together...what would the fathers have said?"

Hiccup laughed. "That's exactly what Dad was wondering a few years back." He frowned suddenly, but no one saw it.

"Okay, so you ready to head up to the Great Hall then, Hiccup?" said Astrid.

"Actually, you go on ahead without me," said Hiccup.

"What?" said Astrid.

"I said you can go on ahead without me," Hiccup repeated. "I've got some...um...stuff to work on." He whistled to Toothless, mounted, and took off before Astrid could say another word.

"That was..._weird," _said Astrid.

"Is something up with him?" said Valka, moving to stand beside Astrid, staring as Hiccup and his Night Fury disappeared from view.

"I don't know," said Astrid. "Ahh, don't worry about it. He'll be back in a few minutes. Would you like to accompany me to the Great Hall to make sure Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout didn't destroy it?"

"Sure," said Valka. She and Astrid mounted their dragons before heading towards the Great Hall.

Oddly enough, it looked great. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were standing on their dragons' heads, hanging candles on the different candle holders on the beams. Snotlout was lighting them with a little bit of Hookfang's fire.

"Wow, guys," said Astrid as she and Valka walked in. "You actually did a good job."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut turned to them and smiled before jumping off their dragon and joining them.

"It was easy," said Ruffnut.

"Too easy," said Tuffnut. "You could have at least given us something harder to do."

Astrid rolled her eyes. Snotlout approached them with Hookfang in tow.

"I think we did pretty good," he said, staring at the work they had done inside the Great Hall. "Y'know...not my _finest _work, but it's not bad. It'll be good for tonight, for sure."

Astrid nodded, a smile on her face. "This is great," she said. Then she thought about Hiccup, and frowned.

"Have you guys noticed anything...ah, what's the right word..._strange, _about Hiccup recently?" she asked Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout.

"Actually, yes," said Snotlout.

"Explain yourself, please," said Valka kindly.

"Okay," said Snotlout, shrugging. "I don't know why you wanna know so badly."

"Valka's his mother, Snotlout," said Astrid, "and I'm his friend. It's our job to make sure he's okay."

"Okay," said Snotlout. "He's been acting...just like you said. _Strange_. Not really strange, though, more...ah, _out of it_, really. He normally loves this," he gestured to the Great Hall, "and such, but this year, he's just seemed different. Like something's changed."

"Well, yeah, something's changed," said Tuffnut.

"What?" said everyone else in unison.

"It's really obvious," said Ruffnut. "He's the Chief this year. Could you imagine the level of stress it puts on someone? And he's only twenty. Well, technically, almost twenty one, since his birthday's in February-"

"What's your _point_, Ruffnut?" said Astrid.

"He's stressed out," said Ruffnut. "It's obvious."

"No, I don't think so," said Astrid. "I've seen Hiccup _stressed out_ a fair few times in the academy days. This is different. It's more like..._depression_."

"Depression?" said Fishlegs, just entering the Great Hall, having heard the tail end of the conversation. They turned to him as he walked and stood beside them. "I've never actually seen Hiccup _depressed_. Have you?"

"I'm not sure," said Astrid. "He's been acting sort of miserable, downhearted, dispirited recently...all those type things, leading up to depression."

"Still," said Fishlegs. "Maybe instead of speculating what's wrong, you should take it up with him. Take some time to actually talk to him about this."

"He doesn't listen to me," said Astrid. "I can't talk to him. He'll wave it off with a laugh or a quick, 'Me? Depressed? Are you okay, Astrid?'" She broke into her best Hiccup Haddock impression.

"I'll talk to him," said Valka. "Maybe he'll listen to his mother."

"Thank you, Valka," said Astrid.

"Tell us how it turns out," said Ruffnut. "We're off to finish decorating!"

"I guess I'll help you," said Astrid. "Valka, please tell me as soon as you know what's wrong. I'm really worried about him right now."

"I will," said Valka. "Thank you, Astrid." She motioned for Cloudjumper, and the two of them left the abode to look for Hiccup.


	2. Chapter 2

**This is my SECOND update today. I really loved this chapter for some reason, and I hope you all, too. :) Shout-outs: **

**xFaerieValkyriex: Yeah, poor Hiccup. And yeah, life's WAY too quick. :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks a bunch, Sil! :D **

**Edlover23: Me too. :)**

**AnimeAngel: Exactly, Anime. Could you imagine how hard it is for Hiccup? Not only is his father gone, but he lives with a small guilty place inside of him, telling him constantly that it was his fault. And Toothless...man. :( **

_FLASHBACK: FIVE YEARS AGO_

"Yaknog!" Astrid called out. "Come on, get a frothy, delicious cup of cheer." She gasped in excitement when she saw Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "Hey, you guys!" she shouted to them, running forward. "Try this tasty new beverage I made for the holidays."

"Ah, what's that smell?" said Tuffnut. "Is that _you_?" he asked his sister.

"It's Yaknog!" said Astrid.

"Bleh!" said Tuffnut. "If I drink that, I'm gonna _Yak_nog all over the place."

"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" said Astrid.

"It looks _delicious, _Astrid, I'd love a mug," said Snotlout. He took a sip, and then put the cup back. "Agh, oh yeah, you can definitely taste the yak."

"Oh, yum, what is that!" said Fishlegs, running up to her. Astrid spun around.

"Oh, you wanna try some?" she smiled. "It's my new traditional drink!"

Behind her, Snotlout looked at Fishlegs in warning, shaking his head back and forth.

"Um, I have actually, inexplicably, changed my mind!" said Fishlegs suddenly.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing," said Astrid. "I bet Hiccup will like it." She turned and walked away, leaving the others behind.

_END OF FLASHBACK: PRESENT_

"YAKNOG!" Astrid shouted to all the villagers in the Great Hall. "Come on, yaknog!"

"Uh-oh," said Snotlout. "Save yourself," he whispered to Fishlegs, and then ran off, followed closely by the others. Astrid glared at where they were standing, still wondering where Hiccup had gone off to. The Snoggletog party had already begun, yet there was no sign of Berk's newly appointed Chief.

"Hello, Astrid!" said Eret. Astrid turned and smiled at him. "What's this I hear about Yaknog?"

"Just a drink," said Astrid. "You wanna try some?" She held a cup out to him cheerily.

"Sure," said Eret, taking it from her. "Looks...interesting."

"YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Snotlout returned.

Eret ignored him and took a sip of the drink. Instantly, he swallowed hard and handed it back to her.

"Well?" said Astrid. "What do you think?"

"It's good," he lied. "Love it."

"Would you like some more?" said Astrid.

"No!" said Eret as if he had been slapped. "Well, I mean...I want to make sure everyone else gets a taste of it." He turned quickly and raced off. Astrid smiled and shook her head.

At that moment, Astrid felt someone touch her shoulder. Spinning around, she found herself face to face with Valka.

"Has Hiccup come back?" she asked.

Astrid shook her head. "No," she said. "Have you found him yet?"

"No," said Valka. "It's not like him to go running off like this. Was it something someone said? What's wrong? He worries me sometimes, Astrid. I don't know where he is, even, and he didn't tell anyone...he just up and left."

"I'm sorry," said Astrid. "I can help you look for him if you like."

"No thank you, Astrid," said Valka. "If he wants to be by himself, maybe just having one person on the job would be better. Besides, you should probably stay with the other villagers, make sure Ruffnut and Tuffnut don't do anything crazy."

"Well...okay, I guess," said Astrid. "But if you need help, I mean...I'm available. I'm not doing anything important. Besides, there are some people who came up to me and asked where Hiccup was. You should go on and look for him. He likes overhangs, if that helps at all."

"Thanks, Astrid," said Valka. She turned and exited the Great Hall, mounted her dragon, and headed off, searching for her son.

...

Hiccup sat on a ledge, his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. He had been sitting there for hours, avoiding people, trying to keep from breaking down in front of someone.

His father. Gone. Forever. Out of his life. Forever. First Snoggletog without him, and Hiccup couldn't stand it.

The ledge wasn't quite big enough for a dragon to stand on, and it was too high for Toothless to jump up without a rider. He sat at the bottom, cooing at his master.

"Not now, Toothless," said Hiccup. "I don't want to fly."

Toothless grunted sadly, pawing at the side of the ledge.

Hiccup sighed. "_Not now, _bud."

Toothless, defeated, giving up on any attempt to cheer Hiccup up, turned and slunk away sadly. Hiccup stared out into space, trying to think about something else, failing each time.

"Look at me," he said to himself. "First Snoggletog as Chief of Berk, and I desert the village. I don't know what I'm doing. Why do we need a holiday to emphasize it?" He looked at the Great Hall, hearing different shouts and cheers emanate from it. It was already dark, too, and cloudy, so the moon and stars weren't visible.

"What do I do, Dad?" Hiccup asked no one in particular, resting his head in his hands. "What do I do?"

Cloudjumper turned towards the voice and headed over, hovering over Hiccup. Hiccup lifted his head and looked at the dragon, frowning.

"Not now, Cloudjumper," he said. "I want to be alone."

"Why?" Valka asked. Hiccup jumped slightly as she jumped down onto the ledge and stood beside where Hiccup was sitting.

"Mom," said Hiccup. "I didn't know you were there."

Valka nodded. "What's wrong?" she said, sitting beside him. "Did something happen? Is something wrong? Are you sick, or...?"

"No," said Hiccup. "No, I'm fine...well, actually, no I'm _not _fine. I'm fine, but I'm not, and...agh, this is hard to explain."

"Take your time," said Valka.

"Yes, something happened," said Hiccup. "Just not what you would think."

"What was it?" said Valka. Hiccup sighed. "Hiccup, I want to help you," said Valka. "We all do, but we can't help you unless you let us."

"Dad," said Hiccup.

"What?" said Valka.

"Dad's gone," said Hiccup. "He's been gone for months, I shouldn't still feel like this, but I do. I see him in everything, Mom. I see him in the villagers, I see him in my friends, I see him in the only family I have..." He looked at her. "And I see it in myself. But he's not..._here_. He's not. He'll never be here again. He's gone. And...I don't know. I've never actually spent a Snoggletog without him, and...it's hard. Twenty years, twenty Snoggletogs, and then he's just gone. I'll never see him again." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Just forget it. I don't expect you to understand."

"I do, though," said Valka.

"No, you don't," said Hiccup. "Sorry, I just...how can you understand? You didn't have your father stolen from you. Cloudjumper abducted you, and yes, you lived through twenty Snoggletogs without us, but you could have come back. You could have. You had the choice. Me? I don't have that choice. I'm stuck here, chiefing a village..." He hesitated. "Well, _trying _to, at least." Hiccup sighed. "I just don't know what to do. You asked me if something was wrong? Well, yes, it is. Everything's wrong for me right now. I can't...I can't _do it, _Mom. I _can't _protect Berk against attackers. I _can't _lead them. I _can't _do what my Dad could do. I can't even talk about this without crying! I'm weak. I can't do anyth-"

"Crying doesn't make anyone think less of you, Hiccup," said Valka, cutting him off. "And it doesn't mean you're weak, either. It means you have a heart."

"I just don't know what to do anymore," said Hiccup. "I mean...I try. I really try. I try like you probably wouldn't believe. But I also _fail_. Miserably."

"You're not failing any of us, Hiccup," said Valka. "The only person you're truly failing is yourself."

"I don't even know what that means!" said Hiccup. "Why does it matter to you, though? It's not your problem."

"I'm your mother, Hiccup," said Valka. "I'm supposed to help you with your problems."

"I had problems growing up," said Hiccup. "I lost a leg when I was fifteen, for goodness sake! Before that, though, everyone hated me! I had _literally no friends at all_. It took me killing the Red Death to finally get noticed. It was hard, getting used to this." He gestured to his prosthetic. "You know how many times I slipped and fell while trying to get the hang of using this…_thing? _I can't even count it, it's so many. And what about the time I was struck by lightning? Where were you then?" There wasn't any anger in his voice; he asked it as if it were a legitimate question. "And then there were all the times I spent birthdays and Snoggletogs just wishing and hoping beyond all possibilities that you were alive somewhere. And…I'm glad you are, Mom, but…it was hard. I had a _lot _of problems growing up. Where were you? Why do you suddenly care so much about me?"

Valka didn't know how to answer the question, or if Hiccup was even expecting her to answer it. What could she say? He was right, in a way. He was _exactly _right.

"I spent most my life, wishing you were here," said Hiccup. He sighed. "I spent my _entire _life wishing you had spent it with me. I thought you had died. It was hard for me, Mom, losing a mother at a young age, never even remembering even a slight image to keep with you even mentally. It was hard for me, Mom. _It was hard for me. _I had problems growing up, I had problems making friends, I had problems killing dragons…I guess I get that from you."

He smiled ever so slightly, so tiny it could have been mistaken for a grimace. "But while I was growing up, you _had _to kill a dragon, or you were useless. That's actually what they used to call me, Mom. They called me _Hiccup the Useless. _And I spent most my life believing it was true, too. Where were you then?" There still wasn't any anger or hatred in his voice; he sounded as though he really, really, _really _wanted Valka to answer the question. Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes, thinking about what he would say next. "I really wish you would have been here," said Hiccup. "My life would have been different."

Valka felt guilt all over again. The same guilt she felt the first time she saw Hiccup after twenty years; seeing what he had become without knowing how he had got there. She was about to stand up to leave, when Hiccup spoke again.

"But, Mom...my life would have been _different,_" he said. At first, Valka stared at him, waiting for him to explain. "I never would have met Toothless, more than likely," Hiccup explained, a small bit of hope in his voice. "We would probably still be at war with the dragons. We would probably...we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. I know you stayed away for what it was worth, but you're here now, too. And I'm thankful for that. I'm glad you're here, Mom. Going through this without you...I just...I wouldn't be able to do it."

"And I'm glad I'm here, too," said Valka. "I want you to know you can always ask for help, even if it seems useless. It's not. Really, it's not. I'm your mother. I want to help you. And you know, your friends do, too. Especially Astrid."

"Astrid," Hiccup laughed. "She'll probably kill me when she finds out about all of this."

"Why would she do that?" said Valka. "She told me she was worried about you."

"Astrid? Worried?" Hiccup shook his head. "If _she's _worried, maybe we should go back." He stood, Valka moving to stand beside him.  
"And Hiccup," said Valka, "you know I love you, right?"

"Yes, I do," said Hiccup. "I love you, too." He hesitated. "Hey," he said, "do you want to know what someone special told me one year, what we do when the ones we love can't be here for Snoggletog?"

"What did they tell you?" said Valka.

Hiccup smiled. "We celebrate them."


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so sorry about how short this chapter is, but I was happy with the way it ended. There will be one more chapter after this, and I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. I should finish this piece tonight. :D I saw two deer on the side of the road; a buck and a doe. It was awesome. :D So, that inspired this joke. Ready? **

**Why do deer use coupons? Because they save big _Bucks _and lots of _Doe_. **

**Okay, I'm done. But seriously, I love puns and jokes. :) Aaaand...my email won't load, and I am sorry. Shout-outs next chapter, I promise! :D This chapter is quite possibly my favorite. I love it to death. :D Enjoy, hope you like it! **

Hiccup was just about to ask Valka for a ride, since he didn't know where Toothless had run off to, when he heard a roar.

"Toothless!" said Hiccup.

Valka laughed. "He just can't stay away," she smiled.

Toothless grinned happily, his tongue flopping out the side of his mouth as he smiled at his rider, his teeth sheathed. Hiccup jumped off the ledge, landing with perfection on Toothless' back.

"What do you say, bud?" said Hiccup. "Ready to go to the Great Hall?"

Toothless grunted in agreement and took off, Valka following closely on Cloudjumper.

...

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed as he and his mother entered the Great Hall. She ran forward and hugged him. "Why'd you run off?" she asked. "Was it something I said? Was it something I did? Did I do something at all? Was it someone else? Do you want me to beat them up? Was it-"

"Astrid," said Hiccup, "no one did anything. I just needed to be alone."

"Oh," said Astrid. "Well, are you good now, or do you want to be alone again, or...?"

"Actually, yeah, I'm good," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" said Snotlout, running up to his cousin. "Where have you been? It's been crazy! And that's boring! When you're here, it's INSANE!"

"Oookay," said Hiccup. He looked in front, seeing many people dancing in the middle of the Great Hall.

"Do you want to dance?" Astrid asked as if reading Hiccup's thoughts.

"Thought you'd never ask!" said Snotlout.

"That's not what I meant-ah!" Before she could finish what she was saying, Snotlout grabbed her hand and yanked her onto the dance floor. Not wanting to ruin everyone's fun by scolding Snotlout, Astrid decided to just roll with it. Hiccup looked at them, barely containing a laugh.

As soon as she finished dancing with Snotlout, she turned and walked back to Hiccup again.

"Now that _that's _over with," she said, "do you want to dance, Hiccup?" This time, to make sure she didn't make the same mistake twice, she used Hiccup's name at the end to tell everyone that the invitation was addressed to him.

"Me?" said Hiccup. "No thanks, you go on ahead."

"Come on!" said Astrid, grabbing his hand and practically dragging him. "It'll be fun!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure this is...CRAAAAAZY!"

Astrid finally managed to yank him onto the dance floor, and she and he danced to the fast paced beat made by Berkians sitting on the sides, clapping and stomping.

Valka watched Astrid and Hiccup, seeing the way they were both smiling.

Gobber walked up to her and stood beside her, gazing at the scene.

"You know," said Gobber, "I've known Hiccup his whole life. I haven't seen him _this _happy for quite a while now, you know."

Valka nodded. "I'm sure," she said. "Hiccup's a good lad."

Gobber nodded. "He is," he said. "He has a kind heart. Just like his father. You know, he's like Stoick in a lot of ways. He's also like you in many ways, too, Valka. He's a good mix of both."

"Agreed," said Valka. "You know something?"

"What?" said Gobber.

"This is my first Snoggletog on Berk in twenty years," said Valka. "So much has changed, yet so much is the same. We've made peace with the dragons, which is a huge change, yet the Berkians haven't changed at all."

"Some things never change," said Gobber. "Except next year, I'm banning the Yaknog. Astrid's worse in the kitchen then you _ever _were."

"Is she now?" said Valka. "I have a hard time believing that."

"Aye, I wouldn't say that just yet," said Gobber. "Her Yaknog could kill more dragons than Hiccup could train!"

"I have an even harder time believing that," said Valka.

"Have ya tried it?" said Gobber.

"No," said Valka.

"Good," said Gobber. "Probably for the best."

Hiccup and Astrid stopped just as everyone else did. The Great Hall burst into cheers and applause.

"HAPPY SNOGGLETOG!" someone shouted out.

"Happy Snoggletog," said Astrid.

"You too, milady," said Hiccup.


	4. Chapter 4

**I. LOVE. THIS. CHAPTER. MORE. THAN. ALL. OF. THE. REST. AAAAH THIS CHAPTER IS SO...OH, I WON'T TELL YOU! JUST READ IT AND YOU WILL FIND OUT! :D This is my SECOND update today, and this story's done after this chapter! :D Shout-outs, as promised: **

**Silver Electricity: YAY COFFFEEEE THAAANKK YOOOOUUUUU! :D**

**midnightsky0612: Yay happy Snoggletog! :D **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks! I'm glad you like it, Sil! :D **

**Edlover23: Yes, I'm so glad Valka had a talk with him. :D**

**Now, I will see you awesome guys soon! I have another Christmas fanfic I want to start posting sometime, so...TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS WHAT IN THE WORLD!? I can't believe it! Time has flown! Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! :D**

The next day, Hiccup was walking through the plaza. The snow had deepened in the night, and was now up to his calf. He looked to the side and saw Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut rolling up balls of snow.

"Hiccup!" Astrid called to him. "Come on! Get over here!"

"Why?" said Hiccup, running over.

"We're building a snowman!" said Astrid. "I voted we wait for you."

"I voted we start without you," said Snotlout.

Fishlegs glared at the boy for just a second. "We got a start, but we wanted you to do it with us!" he said to Hiccup.

"Pleeeease?" Ruffnut begged.

"Yeah, where's your sense of fun?" said Snotlout.

"I never said I wouldn't," said Hiccup. "It sounds brilliant."

After they built a very, very, very, very, VERY weird looking snowman (courtesy of Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout, who thought it would look better if they made seven eyes, carrots for ears, and just pretty much mixed everything else up), Hiccup was about to leave to go do his chiefing duties.

Snotlout grinned as he walked away, scooped some snow off the ground, and formed it into the perfect ball.

"Watch this," he whispered to Tuffnut, and hurled the snowball straight at Hiccup. It smacked him in the shoulder, and he whipped around. The others giggled, trying (and failing) to contain it.

"Okay, who threw that snowball?" said Hiccup.

"He did!" said Snotlout, pointing to Tuffnut.

"Alright," said Hiccup, a somewhat evil smile flashing on his face.

"Whut?" said Tuffnut, before a snowball smacked into his face, thrown by Hiccup. "Hey, no fair!" said Tuffnut. "I don't have any ammunition!"

"It's on the ground in front of you, weirdo!" said Ruffnut. "This is war!"

"Astrid's on my team!" said Snotlout.

"No I'm not!" said Astrid, throwing a snowball at Snotlout's face.

Hiccup threw one at Snotlout, hitting its mark. Snotlout threw one back at his cousin, hitting Hiccup's hands when he held them up for protection.

The snowballs started flying back and forth like crazy. It was so crazy, it was almost unbelievable. Then, Hiccup threw one at Ruffnut, but she ducked. It sailed over her head, and hit Valka, who was just dismounting Cloudjumper.

"Oh man..." said Snotlout. "Guess who won't show up tomorrow?" He elbowed his cousin.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," said Valka.

"Oooh, she said the full name," said Tuffnut. "You're dead."

"Wellp, nothin' to see here," said Snotlout, taking one step away from Hiccup.

"Mom, I am so sorry," said Hiccup. "I didn't mean to-" Before he finished his thought, a snowball slammed into his face, thrown by..._Valka? _Valka laughed as Hiccup spat snow out of his mouth. Hiccup smirked and threw one back at her.

"This is war!" said Ruffnut. "Again! Every man for himself!"

The snowballs continued flying like mad, this time, with Valka joining in.

"Okay, time out the whole game!" said Hiccup, making a T with his hands. "We are going to make teams. Fishlegs and Astrid, you two are team Fishstrid. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you three make up team Snotnuts. Mom, me and you are team Haddock."

"Fun," said Valka.

"But shouldn't we technically have an even number of players on each team?" said Astrid. "I mean...Snotnuts is made up of three players. We need one more."

"Chief Haddock!" called a voice. Turning around, they saw Eret running towards them.

"Guess who's the 'one more'?" said Hiccup fiendishly. Eret stopped in front of them.

"What...is going on?" said Eret.

"Eret, you have been recruited in our snowball fight!" said Hiccup. "If you want to, that is."

"Sure," said Eret. "I can't remember the last time I participated in a snowball fight."

"Yay!" said Ruffnut, clapping her hands together. "He can be on my team! Team Ernut!"

"On second thought..." said Eret.

"Come on, Eret!" said Snotlout. "We need another player!"

"Well...okay, I guess so," said Eret.

"Okay, Snotnuts...or, now it's Snot_nut_, since I guess Eret will be with Ruffnut," said Hiccup. "So the final teams are: Fishstrid, Snotnut, Ernut, and Haddock."

"Great!" said Astrid. "So, each team gets fifteen minutes to build their fortress. No firing until each team is ready, or the team that does so will have to stand still while I dump a bucket of watered down snow over their heads!"

They set to work building the forts in the middle of the plaza, ignoring all the villagers that passed and stared. Some of them stopped to watch, while others left to do their work while laughing and shaking their heads.

Fifteen minutes later, the teams were ready. Each fort was built about five feet away from each other, the four forts forming the four corners of an invisible square. The dragons watched from the sidelines, not wanting to get involved.

"We already?" said Hiccup.

"Ready as we'll ever be!" said Snotlout. "This is awesome!"

"Death or glory then!" said Hiccup. "GO!" The snowballs started flying in a rapid session. They were more like deathballs than snowballs; at one point, Snotlout grabbed a chunk of ice and hurled it at Hiccup, and Astrid picked up part of their "snowman" and dropped it on Fishlegs' head.

Hiccup created the perfect snowball, and then threw it at Fishlegs. It slammed into his back, and Hiccup laughed.

"Bingo!" he shouted. Then, he was pelted with snowballs from Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Eret, and Snotlout. Hiccup and Valka ducked, putting their hands behind their head, hiding in the safety of their fort, listening as the other teams shouted for them to stop hiding.

"You know what, Hiccup?" said Valka.

"What?" said Hiccup.

"I love snowball fights," said Valka.

And then they started up again, even more crazily than before. Eventually, it got to the point where no one cared about their forts anymore, and decided that they would make good snowballs. So, they began lifting their forts off the ground, running over to someone, and bashing into them. And then it became like snow pillow fights, only the snow shattered upon impact, and they were only good for one use.

And not to mention the fact that the snow was nearly a foot deep.

Astrid threw a snowball straight at Hiccup. He turned around at the wrong moment, so it slammed into his face. He shook snow out of his hair and frowned in her direction.

"Aww, come on, Astrid!" said Hiccup. "Whose side are you on?"

"_Mine_," said Astrid.

"I feel like everyone's ganging up on me!" said Hiccup. He grabbed some snow off the ground, squeezed all the water out of it, so it was like a ball of ice, and then threw it at Snotlout. Snotlout winced and glared daggers at his cousin. Then, he threw an "iceball" of his own.

Eret felt bad throwing snowballs at his chief, but Hiccup was throwing snowballs at him, so maybe it was just as well. They continued for hours upon hours, throwing snowball after snowball, until eventually, they tired themselves out.

"That was the most fun I've had in years," said Eret.

"I know, right?" said Snotlout. "I especially liked it when that one snowball I threw hit Hiccup in the face."

"Boy, do I enjoy you're company," said Hiccup.

Astrid laughed. "It was just a snowball fight," she said. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Yeah," said Hiccup. "That was the best snowball fight I've ever taken part in."

"I can't remember the last snowball fight I was in," said Valka. "It's been around twenty years actually, Hiccup."

"That's a shame," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, cause we all love snowball fighting to the death," said Ruffnut.

"I suppose I should be going," said Eret. "Goodbye, you all."

"Goodbye, Eret!" the others called to him in unison as he took off on Skullcrusher.

"So, do you all want to go inside now, maybe make some hot cocoa?" said Valka.

"As long as I cook it," said Astrid.

"Actually," said Hiccup, "how about _I _make it." No one really trusted Astrid's cooking, and Valka wasn't really much better (although no one would say it in front of either of them).

"Sure," said Astrid. "As long as you don't burn it like you did the Yaknog last year."

"I won't," said Hiccup. "And I burnt the Yaknog _on purpose_."

"It tasted better burnt," Snotlout whispered to Valka. He shuddered. "No, seriously, it did."

"So, let's head up," said Hiccup.

It may have been simple; a snowball fight. But it was the most fun any of them had had since before the battle with Drago. Instead of dwelling on the loss of his father, Hiccup remembered all the good times he had spent with him. And maybe, because of that reason, Snoggletog had been that much brighter.

Happy Snoggletog.

Merry Christmas.

_**THE END**_


End file.
